Woodles

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How to Play Woodles

Game Overview

Woodles is a daily word puzzle where you reconstruct a famous quotation from a swirling vortex of words. Each puzzle features a Mystery Quote (the famous quotation you'll assemble) and a Hint Phrase (a rephrasing that retains the original meaning while using different words) that provides clues and adds extra words to the vortex to increase the challenge.

Phase 1: Word Collection

In the first phase, your goal is to collect all the words needed for the Mystery Quote:

  • The Hint Phrase is displayed at the top to give you context
  • Words from both the Mystery Quote and the Hint Phrase swirl together in the central vortex
  • Drag words from the vortex to the blue collection area in the middle
  • Don't worry about word order yet - just collect all the words you think belong in the Mystery Quote
  • Words you don't need can be dismissed by flicking them away from the vortex
  • Phase 1 ends automatically when you've collected all the required words for the Mystery Quote

Vortex Speed Control

The speed slider on the left side allows you to adjust vortex rotation. Each speed setting has trade-offs:

Slower Speeds (0.0x - 0.75x)

Words are easier to see and grab, but increasing fog obscures visibility.

Standard Speed (1.0x)

Balanced gameplay with no fog and no color coding. Required for Pure Rankings on leaderboards.

Faster Speeds (1.25x - 2.0x)

Words are harder to catch, but color coding appears: needed words show green, unnecessary words show red.

Note: Playing at speeds other than 1.0x moves your score to Boosted Rankings instead of Pure Rankings.

Tip: The Hint Phrase provides valuable clues about the meaning and theme of the Mystery Quote!

Phase 2: Word Arrangement

In the second phase, the vortex disappears and you focus on arranging the Mystery Quote:

  • The Hint Phrase remains visible at the top to guide you
  • Your collected words appear in the blue assembly area in the middle
  • Drag words to reorder them into the correct sequence
  • Arrange the quote from beginning to end, leaving any unnecessary words at the end
  • Each word movement costs 0.25 points
  • Three hint buttons appear below to assist if you get stuck (0.5 points each)
  • Correctly placed words highlight in green, while unnecessary words show in red
  • A thin progress bar below the Mystery Quote header shows your progress (red/yellow/green based on how many consecutive words from the start are correct)

Phase 2 Hints

Three hint types are available to help if you get stuck. Each hint costs 0.5 points:

  • Unneeded Word Hint: Identifies a word that doesn't belong in the Mystery Quote and removes it from the assembly area
  • Correct String Hint: Highlights consecutive words that are in correct order from the beginning of the quote (even a long sequence won't be highlighted if it doesn't start from position 1)
  • Next Word Hint: Highlights which word should come immediately after the correct string

Bonus Question

After assembling the Mystery Quote, you'll face a multiple-choice question about the quote's source. Answer correctly for a 10% score reduction!

  • Literary quotes: Answer format is Author Name and Book Title
  • Historical & Poetry quotes: Answer format is Person's Name and Year

Scoring System

Your score is calculated based on efficiency. Lower scores are better!

Phase 1 Score (Word Collection)

Phase 1 Score = Words Seen / Unique Words

  • Words Seen: Total word instances viewed from the vortex (including repeats)
  • Unique Words: Total count of all words in both the Mystery Quote and Hint Phrase combined

Perfect Phase 1 = 1.0 (saw every word exactly once)

Phase 2 Score (Word Arrangement)

Phase 2 Score = (Reorder Moves × 0.25) + (Hints Used × 0.5)

  • Reorder Moves: Each word movement costs 0.25 points
  • Hints Used: Each hint costs 0.5 points

Perfect Phase 2 = 0.0 (no moves or hints needed)

Final Score

Final Score = (Phase 1 + Phase 2) × Bonus Multiplier

  • Bonus Correct: Reduces your final score by 10% (multiplier = 0.9)
  • Bonus Incorrect: No reduction (multiplier = 1.0)

Perfect game = 1.0 final score. Vortex speed doesn't affect scoring, but playing at speeds other than 1.0x moves you to Boosted Rankings.

Leaderboards & Stats

Track your progress and compare with other players:

Today's Puzzle & All-Time Best

  • Pure Rankings: First play of each puzzle at standard speed (1.0x only)
  • Boosted Rankings: Repeat plays or games with adjusted speed (any speed other than 1.0x)

All-Time Best shows the top 100 players based on average score across all their games (minimum 10 games required for ranking).

Personal Stats

View your performance history, streaks, and detailed statistics in the Stats page.

Pro Tips

  • Study the Hint Phrase carefully - it provides valuable context for the Mystery Quote's meaning
  • At faster speeds, the color coding (green/red) helps you quickly identify needed words
  • In Phase 2, use the progress bar to see if you're getting warmer (green) or colder (red/yellow)
  • Plan your word arrangement carefully to minimize moves and save points
  • The Correct String Hint only highlights words starting from position 1 - perfect for getting started

Daily Puzzle & Archive

A new Woodles puzzle is released every day at midnight in your timezone.

Puzzle Archive (Premium Feature)

Missed a day? The Archive lets you play previous puzzles for practice. Archive scores are tracked and displayed but do not count towards leaderboards or stats. You can view past puzzle leaderboards to see how other players performed on each puzzle's original release date.

Visual Distinction

Puzzles you played on their original release date show ✓ Completed in green, while archive-only plays show ✓ Played in amber.